Virgin Galactic's Private SpaceShipTwo Soars Over San Francisco

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A private spaceship built for the space tourism firm Virgin
Galactic took to the sky above San Francisco Wednesday (April 6)
to help christen a sister company's new terminal at the city's
international airport.

The spacecraft, called SpaceShipTwo, flew into San Francisco
International Airport (SFO) with its mothership WhiteKnightTwo to
mark the opening of the airport's new Terminal 2, where Virgin
America – a California-based sister company to
Virgin Galactic – will serve as an anchor tenant. The Virgin
America aircraft "My Other Ride Is a Spaceship" accompanied the
SpaceShipTwo and its carrier into the airport. [ See
photos of SpaceShipTwo over San Francisco ]

"Virgin America has the most advanced and carbon-efficient
commercial fleet in the U.S. and when it touches down today at
its new home it will share the runway with the future of
commercial aerospace – SpaceShipTwo and WhiteKnightTwo," said
George Whitesides, Virgin Galactic's President and CEO, in a
statement. "We’re proud that two Virgin-branded companies can
link the cutting-edge present to the future of commercial
aviation. It is also fitting that today’s flights are helping to
inspire the next generation of scientists, engineers and
aviators."

The spacecraft is expected to launch six passengers and two
pilots 62 miles (100 km) above Earth, offer several minutes of
weightlessness and stunning views of the Earth below, and then
glide back to a runway landing. Tickets cost $200,000 per seat.

Virgin Galactic has been flying a series of
drop tests with SpaceShipTwo and is expected to carry out the
first powered flight test – using the craft's rocket engine –
sometime this year.

The new Terminal 2 at SFO is a 640,000-square foot facility
designed to mirror Virgin America's trademark service with a
"Recompose" lounge to help travelers feel at home while awaiting
flights, dining areas with organic and local fare, wireless
Internet availability and elevated computer work tables. The
terminal features a sustainable, green design and aims to be the
first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)
Gold-certified airport terminal in the United States, Virgin
America officials said.

Virgin America will share the terminal with American Airlines.

“Virgin is known around the world for product innovation that
improves the customer experience. I am proud to see Virgin
America grow into a new home that allows them to extend that
unique Virgin experience from the aircraft to the airport,” said
Virgin Group Founder Sir Richard Branson.

Branson flew into SFO aboard the Virgin America Airbus 320 "My
Other Ride Is a Spaceship," a new aircraft in the airline's
fleet. Virgin Galactic's first SpaceShipTwo vehicle is called the
"VSS Enterprise," with its WhiteKnightTwo carrier named "Eve"
after Branson's mother. [ Photos:
SpaceShipTwo Makes First Glide Flight ]

The inaugural flight into SFO's Terminal 2 also included several
notable passengers, including Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin –
the second man to walk on the moon – and California's Lieutenant
Governor Gavin Newsom. The passengers included supporters of
Galactic Unite, an effort by the Virgin Group's non-profit Virgin
Unite foundation to spur student interest in science,
engineering, math and business entrepreneurship.

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